New labour law in Bangladesh does not protect workers

This week, Bangladesh's parliament passed long-awaited changes to Bangladesh’s Labour Act. Although a welcome step, labour activists and unionists have stated this Act doesn’t go far enough because the laws do not ensure workers’ right to form unions. In the amended Act, entire categories of workers will still be prohibited from forming a union, such as the hundreds of thousands employed in the country’s export processing zones. It is the absence of unions in workplaces that has kept wages at poverty levels and has resulted in the murder of thousands of workers.
 

This week, Bangladesh's parliament passed long-awaited changes to Bangladesh’s Labour Act. Although a welcome step, labour activists and unionists have stated this Act doesn’t go far enough because the laws do not ensure workers’ right to form unions. In the amended Act, entire categories of workers will still be prohibited from forming a union, such as the hundreds of thousands employed in the country’s export processing zones. It is the absence of unions in workplaces that has kept wages at poverty levels and has resulted in the murder of thousands of workers.